Scharff Weisberg Supports The Wolf Productions With Lighting Packages For Democratic And Republican National Convention Coverage By Fox News

Scharff Weisberg Lighting worked both sides of the aisle providing lighting supervisor John Trowbridge of Wayne, New Jersey's The Wolf Productions, LLC with extensive lighting packages for both the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver and the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Wolf Productions met the lighting needs of Fox News and its affiliates, lighting multiple broadcast workspaces with two separate sets, the skybox overlooking the main floor and the broadcast area on the floor of each convention center.

"Scharff Weisberg excelled as usual," Trowbridge reports. "They were willing to work within the budget and always went above and beyond the call of duty. I've recently been doing media coverage of politics, and the nature of news is that it's always changing. Most events and shows have a linear format, but the dynamic nature of news runs counter to that: You can never commit to the structure of a show. So scheduling and planning are very difficult, and I and the entire lighting team had to deal with that."

Imero Fiorentino was the overall lighting designer for Fox News for the conventions. "He and I have worked closely together for years on all of Fox's lighting needs outside the studio," notes Trowbridge. Since the DNC and RNC were staged virtually back to back, Trowbridge brought in five lighting directors who sat on the three separate Fox programs.

For Fox News' coverage of the DNC at the convention center and from Braun's Bar and Grill, Scharff Weisberg furnished Trowbridge with 2K, 1K, 650w, 300w, and 150w ARRI fresnels; 2K and 1K ARRI Softlites; and 1.2K ARRI HMI PARs. The package also featured Coemar LED Parlites, ETC Source 4 PARs, and ETC Source 4 ellipsoidal spots. Lighting control was supplied by ETC Expression 3 consoles and ETC Express 250 consoles. All truss and rigging was provided by Scharff Weisberg.

For Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech before tens of thousands at Invesco Field, Trowbridge required another lighting complement from Scharff Weisberg which included ETC Source 4 ellipsoidal spots; 2K and 650w ARRI fresnels; 2K ARRI Softlites plus a pair of ETC Express 250 consoles. Scharff Weisberg also supplied all of the truss and 25-foot Super Lifts for the stadium.

Trowbridge served as gaffer for the DNC venues with Gerard McCarthy the head electrician.

John Trowbridge served as gaffer at the convention center with Mikey Smallman the head electrician and Tony Bonilla the rigger.

Meghan Marrer was Scharff Weisberg's project and sales manager for both the DNC and RNC events.

Scharff Weisberg and Video Applications, firms with extensive histories in the presentation and staging markets, recently announced a co-ownership agreement. While continuing to operate independently the two companies work together strategically to provide clients with state-of-the-art audio, video and lighting equipment and services. With a strong presence on both coasts Scharff Weisberg and Video Applications are able to deliver a large array of cost-effective services on a national level. For more information, call 212-582-2345 or visit our website at www.scharffweisberg.com. For more information on Video Applications, visit www.videoapps.com.